What is LEVULAN Photodynamic Blue Light Therapy & How Does It Work
“The Levulan Photodynamic (PDT) Blue Light Therapy treatment for Skin Cancer was the most painful experience I have ever had to go through”.
Today I am going to share with you my personal experience with Skin Cancer, Basal Cell Carcinoma, and the LEVULAN Photodynamic Blue Light Therapy treatment I had done on my face in order to try and help kill my bad mutated skin cells.
What is Blue Light Therapy? Let me start by explaining what this treatment is, and who it is for.
Levulan is a prescription cream that when paired with a blue light machine, helps to remove (kill) mutated skin cancer cells. This cream is only allowed to be used in a Dermatologist office, and not for home use.
The basic idea of this cream is that when applied to the face (letting it sit for up to 1 hour on your face) the cream will seep deep into your skin layers, and attach to the mutated skin cells. Then when the blue light is turned on, the cream is supposed to turn into oxygen, bursting the mutated cells within the skin, essentially killing them and stopping them from multiplying.
I thought that my experience with this treatment would be good to document, so that others who need this treatment, can be prepared before their treatment. You can watch my experience in my YouTube video below.
“No one on Youtube warned me that this treatment was going to be extremely painful”.
Here’s what you need to know:
- This treatment is a prescription cream applied to your face, then you either lay under a light machine that gives off Blue Light, or you sit up in front of a light machine that gives off Blue Light.
- When the lights are turned on, depending on the machine, you might only need a 5-6 minute treatment, or up to 15 minutes of treatment. Your Dermatologist will be able to tell you.
- Your Dermatologist should give you a spray water bottle, and a fan. (I recommend you bring your own, and powerful ones). DO NOT start this treatment if you do not have both. You are absolutely going to need them.
- For many people (me) this treatment can be extremely painful. The best way I can explain it is that it felt like someone was holding a HOT pan against my face, and I could not get it off. I cried through the entire 5 minute and 38 second treatment.
- It seems from my experience by talking with others who have had this treatment as well, the worse the Sun damage you have, the more painful this treatment will be. So if you have very little sun damage to your face, you might be in the group that says this treatment did not hurt at all. I wish I was in that group.
If you follow me and my skincare brand then you might already know my story. If you are new to me, you can read my personal story HERE, and see how my skincare line “SunLux Skincare” came to be. (hint: my experience with Basal Cell Carcinoma was at the heart of my intention to create my own skincare line).
“Knowledge is power, and had I had this information, I could have prepared mentally for what was about to happen”.
Please know that I did not make this video or write this blog post to scare you, I am writing this because I wish I had been able to mentally prepare myself for my treatment. No one said, hey, just so you know this might hurt a little, or a lot! No one said, you might develop a big infection on your face because we are essentially burning off the top layer of skin on your face, making you highly vulnerable to bacteria and infection.
No one said any of this!
Here is the POSITIVE side of the LEVULAN Blue Light Therapy treatment.
- It is a very powerful way to STOP skin cancer from continuing to mutate within your cells.
- It can be an alternative to having a section of skin cut out of your face, body, arm, etc, (Mohs Surgery) which in some cases can leave that area looking deformed.
- It can stop the development of Skin Cancer.
The day I left from having my first treatment I was informed that I needed 2-3 more treatments of this LEVULAN therapy. Sadly, as of the day I am writing this it has been 5 years and I have not gone back for more treatments. I do plan to, I’m just not sure when. The good news is the next time I will be able to mentally prepare myself for this treatment and feel more in control of staying in front of my Skin Cancer Basal Cell Carcinoma.
Schedule your Skin Check-up today!
If you want to start tracking your skin spots and moles today, I created a blog post that shares a FREE downloadable PDF of a SKIN DIARY FORM you can print and take to your dermatologist. It will help you keep track of your skin for years to come.
CLICK HERE for the FREE SKIN DIARY FORM
I hope you find my experience helpful, and that I didn’t scare you too much with my personal experience.
If you would like to support me and my indie beauty brand SunLux Skincare, you can visit my SHOP and follow me on social media! I would love for you to stop by and say “hi”.
#PhotodynamicBluelighttherapy / #Skin Cancer / #LevulanBluelighttherapy
“Healthy Skin is Happy Skin”.
Author,
Robin Wayman
Founder/Cosmetic Formulator
All Rights Reserved © 2020-2022 SunLux Skincare
*Disclaimer: I am a trained Cosmetic Skincare Formulator and this article is intended for educational & entertainment purposes only. We never claim to heal or cure any skin conditions. If you need additional help we always recommend our customers & readers go see their local Dermatologist.